Install the {{ic|open-vm-tools}} package in the <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[community]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> repository:

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Install the {{Pkg|open-vm-tools}} and the {{Pkg|open-vm-tools-modules}} package in the <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[community]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> repository.

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pacman -S open-vm-tools

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# pacman -S open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-modules

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and start the service by running:

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Start the service and enable it at boot:

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rc.d start open-vm-tools

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# systemctl start vmtoolsd

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# systemctl enable vmtoolsd

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To start the service during boot, add it to the [[DAEMONS]] area in the {{ic|/etc/[[rc.conf]]}} file.

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The open-vm-tools reads the file /etc/arch-release which is empty:

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DAEMONS=(...open-vm-tools...)

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# cat /proc/version > /etc/arch-release

==Time synchronization==

==Time synchronization==

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Configuring time synchronization in a virtual machine is important: fluctuations are bound to occur more easily in a virtual machine compared to a physical host. This is mostly due to the fact that the cpu is shared by more than 1 virtual machine.

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Configuring time synchronization in a virtual machine is important: fluctuations are bound to occur more easily in a virtual machine compared to a physical host. This is mostly due to the fact that the CPU is shared by more than one virtual machine.

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There are 2 options to set up time synchronization: the host machine as source or an external [[NTP]] server as source.

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There are 2 options to set up time synchronization: the host machine as source or an external server as source.

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When you choose to use the host as source (for example in an ESX server), this can be done by issuing the command:

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===Host machine as time source===

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To use the host as a time source (for example in an ESX server), run the following command (one time is enough):

vmware-toolbox-cmd timesync enable

vmware-toolbox-cmd timesync enable

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To synchronize your guest clock with the host after your host machine wakes up from sleeping (like a laptop computer):

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sudo hwclock --hctosys --localtime

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I run the above command every time I wake up my sleeping laptop and resume using Arch Linux inside the VMWare Player.

Configure the {{ic|vmwgfx}} module to [[Kernel Modules#Loading|load at boot]].

Create the following file:

Create the following file:

Line 85:

Line 96:

Afterwards, a reboot is required.

Afterwards, a reboot is required.

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For guest screen autofit to work correctly, vmware-user-suid-wrapper must be started after X starts. To do so, create the following file:

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{{Note|The open-vm-tools 1:9.2.0-2 package creates this file. Maybe this step can be removed from this wiki?}}

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{{hc|/etc/xdg/autostart/vmware-user.desktop|

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[Desktop Entry]

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Type&#61;Application

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Name&#61;VMWare User Agent

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Exec&#61;/usr/bin/vmware-user-suid-wrapper

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Icon&#61;system-run}}

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Restart X and the guest will resize automatically to the host window after login.

==Paravirtual SCSI-Adapter==

==Paravirtual SCSI-Adapter==

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The paravirtual scsi-adapter can, because there's less overhead, give a substantial performance boost in ESX.

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Due to less overhead the paravirtual scsi-adapter can give a substantial performance boost in ESX.

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This can be used as follows: open the [[mkinitcpio.conf]] file and add the following to the MODULES array:

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This can be used as follows: open the {{ic|/etc/[[mkinitcpio.conf]]}} file and add the following to the MODULES array:

MODULES=(...vmw_pvscsi...)

MODULES=(...vmw_pvscsi...)

Line 111:

Line 134:

==COPY AND PASTE==

==COPY AND PASTE==

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Install the following package (it is required for copy/paste but not listed as a dependency as reported [https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=141607 here])

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pacman -S gtkmm

Run the following command after starting X (or add it to your {{ic|~/.xinitrc}} file) to automatically synchronize your X clipboard with the host's. This allows you to copy text from your virtual machine and paste it in the host, and vice versa.

Run the following command after starting X (or add it to your {{ic|~/.xinitrc}} file) to automatically synchronize your X clipboard with the host's. This allows you to copy text from your virtual machine and paste it in the host, and vice versa.

vmware-user-suid-wrapper

vmware-user-suid-wrapper

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If you get the following error (which, in rare cases, you might have to run `strace vmware-user-suid-wrapper` to see it!)

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vmware-user: could not open /proc/fs/vmblock/dev

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you need to first insert the vmblock module into your kernel.

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sudo modprobe vmblock

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To have the module loaded at boot, see [[Kernel Modules#Loading]].

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===Rebuilding the vmblock module===

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If your kernel already has the vmblock module loaded,

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lsmod | grep vmblock

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and vmware-user-suid-wrapper still doesn't work, then you'll have to build the open-vm-tools-modules package yourself from the [[Arch Build System]]:

VMware Tools versus Open-VM-Tools

VMware Tools for linux exists in 2 forms: the official VMware Tools and Open-VM-Tools. VMware Tools is based on a stable snapshot of Open-VM-Tools. Open-VM-Tools contains more experimental code and features.
The official VMware Tools are not available for Archlinux.

Originally, VMware Tools provided the best drivers for network and storage, combined with the functionality for other features such as time synchronization. However, for quite a while now the drivers for the network adapter en scsi adapter are part of the linux kernel, and VMware Tools is only needed for extra features and support for the "old" vmxnet adapter.

Open-VM-Tools modules

The open-vm-tools-modules package contains the following modules:

vmblock: kernel filesystem module, enables drag&drop functionality between the host system and the virtual machine in VMware Workstation/Fusion.

vmhgfs: kernel filesystem module, enables file/directory sharing between the host system and the virtual machine in VMware Workstation/Fusion.

Time synchronization

Configuring time synchronization in a virtual machine is important: fluctuations are bound to occur more easily in a virtual machine compared to a physical host. This is mostly due to the fact that the CPU is shared by more than one virtual machine.

There are 2 options to set up time synchronization: the host machine as source or an external server as source.

Host machine as time source

To use the host as a time source (for example in an ESX server), run the following command (one time is enough):

vmware-toolbox-cmd timesync enable

To synchronize your guest clock with the host after your host machine wakes up from sleeping (like a laptop computer):

sudo hwclock --hctosys --localtime

I run the above command every time I wake up my sleeping laptop and resume using Arch Linux inside the VMWare Player.

VMCI

The VMCI interface is enabled by default in VMware Workstation and Fusion. In VMware ESX the interface is restricted, which means that communication is only possible between ESX and the virtual machine, not between virtual machines themselves. This can be changed in the Virtual Machine settings, traffic between ESX and the Virtual Machine can not be disabled.

DRAG AND DROP

Drag and Drop from files, from VMware Workstation/Fusion into the Virtual Machines, can be disabled by editing /etc/conf.d/open-vm-tools:

VM_DRAG_AND_DROP="no"

COPY AND PASTE

Install the following package (it is required for copy/paste but not listed as a dependency as reported here)

pacman -S gtkmm

Run the following command after starting X (or add it to your ~/.xinitrc file) to automatically synchronize your X clipboard with the host's. This allows you to copy text from your virtual machine and paste it in the host, and vice versa.

vmware-user-suid-wrapper

If you get the following error (which, in rare cases, you might have to run `strace vmware-user-suid-wrapper` to see it!)

Shared Folders with the Host

Note: This functionality is only available in VMware Workstation and Fusion

Create a new Shared Folder by selecting VM -> Settings... in the VMware Workstation menu. Select the Options tab and then Shared Folder. Enable the Always enabled option and create a new share. For Windows XP, you can create a share named C with the Host Path C:\.

Add the following rule to /etc/fstab (adjust the uid/gid where needed) for each shared folder: